To He Xiangning¹
(June 25, 1937)
Madame² Xiangning:
I have received with gratitude your gracious gifts of a brush, a collection of
paintings, and Shuangqing cicao. Thank you so very much. I have nothing with
which to reciprocate your kindness, Madame, so I can only work harder as a
token of my appreciation for your generous gifts. Your paintings are filled with
the spirit of struggle, and although I know nothing of painting, I find them
excellent. In the situation which confronts us today, we can be victorious only
through struggle. People of your caliber, Madame, have inherited Mr. Sun's
tradition of struggling unrelentingly and never yielding, setting an example for
the Chinese nation. Those who admire and look up to you include the popular
masses of the entire nation and are not limited to my humble self, Zedong, and a
few others. Chengzhi is doing very well here. Everyone thinks well of him, so
please do not worry about him. We have not seen you for ten years, Madame,
and we know that you are somewhat older, but everyone has the feeling that your
spirit is even younger than before. Seeing Mr. Liu Yazi's inscriptions on your
paintings is like seeing him in person. Please give him my regards when convenient. What a shame that such old-style scholars with integrity are so rare that
there are only one or two left. Making use of an old saying, I may describe them
as unicorns and phoenixes. I do not know, however, what his current political


We have translated this letter from Mao Zedong shuxin xuanji, pp. 106-7, where it is
reproduced from the manuscript.


1. He Xiangning (1878-1972), a native of Nanhai, Guangdong, was the widow of
Liao Zhongkai, a leading figure in the Guomindang Left in the 1920s, who was
assassinated in August 1925. (See Volume II, pp. 215-16, note 3.) She herself was a
member of the Guomindang Central Executive Committee and director of the Women's
Department, but resigned all her offices in protest against Chiang Kaishek's coup of April
1927 and thereafter opposed Chiang's policies.


2. Here, and throughout this letter, Mao addresses He Xiangning as xiansheng, a term
which normally means "sir" or "Mr." Because this would sound odd in English, we
have not translated "Mr. Xiangning," but it should be emphasized that "Madame" here
not only stands for a polite form of address to a woman, but implies respect for her as a
person.


3. The Chinese word bi can mean either brush or pen (including fountain pen). It is
impossible to say from the text which of these He Xiangning had sent to Mao.


4. This is the title of a book of poems by Liao Zhongkai published in 1928.


5. The reference is to He Xiangning's son, Liao Chengzhi (1908-1983), who was
working at this time in the Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party.
views are. There are some positive changes in current affairs, about which I
imagine that you too, Madame, must also be very glad. But that bright future still
requires great efforts to attain.
Respectfully wishing you the best of health!
Mao Zedong